Product description

Craving pleasure as well as knowledge, Raphael Sanzio was quick to realize that his talent would only be truly appreciated in the liberal, carefree and extravagantly sensual atmosphere of Rome during its golden age under Julius II and Leo X. Arriving in the city in 1508 at the age of twenty-five, he was entranced and seduced by life at the papal court and within a few months had emerged as the most brilliant star in its intellectual firmament. His art achieved a natural grace that was totally uninhibited and free from subjection. His death, at just thirty-seven, plunged the city into the kind of despair that follows the passing of an esteemed and much loved prince. In this major new biography Antonio Forcellino retraces the meteoric arc of Raphael's career by re-examining contemporary documents and accounts and interpreting the artist's works with the eye of an expert art restorer. Raphael's paintings are vividly described and placed in their historical context.
Forcellino analyses Raphael's techniques for producing the large frescos for which he is so famous, examines his working practices and his organization of what was a new kind of artistic workshop, and shows how his female portraits expressed and conveyed a new attitude to women. This rich and nuanced account casts aside the misconceptions passed on by those critics who persistently tried to undermine Raphael's mythical status, enabling one of the greatest artists of all time to re-emerge fully as both man and artist.

Author information

Antonio Forcellino is an art historian and restorer.

Review quote

'Written in his usual lively style, Forcellino's new book combines fast-moving narrative, a vivid portrait of Raphael the man, and a perceptive analysis of his art.' Peter Burke, University of Cambridge

Table of contents

Introduction 1 Giovanni's Son 1 A Well-To-Do Household 2 A Sophisticated Court 3 Home and Workshop 4 Assistants and Masters 5 A Precocious Master 2 From Urbino to Umbria 1 The First Test 2 Recognition 3 Challenging the Masters 4 Turbulent Landscapes 5 The End of the Terror 3 The Florentine Period 1 In the City of Titans 2 A New World 3 Building a Reputation 4 Chronicle of a Tragedy 5 A Sudden Departure 4 In Rome 1 The Half-hidden Ruins 2 From Chalices to Helmets 3 The War of Images 4 The Rise to Primacy 5 The School of Raphael 5. The Pope and his Banker 1 The Pope's Beard 2 The Stanza of Heliodorus 3 Through the Streets of Rome 4 The Pope's Banker 5 `Amor Vincit Omnia` 6 Venus Emerges from the Water 7 Death of a Warrior Pope 6 The Years of Triumph 1 A New Era 2 One Long Party 3 In Pursuit of the Dream 4 Pitch Black Hair and Eyes 5 State Portraits 7 The Discovery of Architecture 1 Women of Devotion 2 Storming the Fortress 3 The Flight of Icarus 4 Private Pleasures 5 Between The Tiber and Monte Mario 8 A New Artist 1 The Inaccessible Palace 2 A Web of Jealousy 3 Venus Returns 4 Vila Madama 5 The Star That Fell from Heaven Notes Index of Names